War-time fire hero remembered

A heroic firefighter who died in 1945 after trying to rescue two girls from a fire has been honoured.

A monument in memory George Cross winner Frederick Davies of Fourth Avenue, Queen's Park, was unveiled on Saturday at North Kensington's Kensal Green Cemetery following a restoration project.

The ceremony, attended by his family and the fire brigade, was held 63 years to the day since he died, aged 32.

Friends of Kensal Green Cemetery helped pay for the monument's restoration work, which chairman Barry Smith said had become dirty and overgrown with weeds.

"We saw that the grave had become a bit neglected and thought something had to be done about it," he said. "More than 60 years of erosion and weathering had taken its toll.

"It is a very touching story. There are around 14 people who have been awarded the Victoria Cross buried in the cemetery, but only the one who has received the George Cross, so that makes his grave a bit more special."

Mr Davies, who was born in Goodwin Road, Shepherd's Bush, joined the London Auxiliary Fire Bridge in 1939 and served with Willesden fire station during the Second World War. He died on August 23, 1945, from injuries sustained while trying to save two girls - who later died - from a burning house in Craven Park Road, Harlesden.

Firefighters from Willesden and Wembley fire stations attended the memorial, along with Mr Davies' daughter Doreen and the sister of the two girls he tried to rescue.

For more information about the monument see the Friends of Kensal Green Cemetery website at www.kensalgreen.co.uk